Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Always remember what my college auto body instructor said many times "You can't fill a high spot"--I'm sure you understand what he was talking about.

Lead is great if a bit hard to apply properly and it is heavy. About 'Bondo' the plastic fillers of years gone by aren't even in the same class of today's fillers. With that said, even back in the 70's the standard for 'quality' application was no more than an 1/8th of an inch. I always tried for no more than a 1/16th of an inch sort of a 'shim' coat.

I was taught that a thin coat of filler was better than really coats of primer/filler as the primer wasn't designed to be applied that thick.

After graduation and at my first autobody repairman job the other repairmen laughed their asses off when I removed my first dent by hammer off dolly then finished up with peck and filling and didn't use any filler, just sanded the paint into a bevel and then applied a coat of primer/filler. At $13 an hour labor rate with the shop getting 60% of the $13's I still think I was making money as I didn't have to wait for the filler to dry, just the primer. Who knows?

Can’t remember if I’ve ever been excited about getting nails before.

But special, silicon bronze ring nails ain’t something I’ve ever went lookin for before either.
Supposedly the bees knees when it comes to holding the panels tight on wood for a really long time..

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Can’t remember if I’ve ever been excited about getting nails before.

But special, silicon bronze ring nails ain’t something I’ve ever went lookin for before either.
Supposedly the bees knees when it comes to holding the panels tight on wood for a really long time..

Damn it! So much for getting you a bunch of 'em for Christmas!

I used drywall screws for most all wood to Anything. But I guess not in this situation.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I used drywall screws for most all wood to Anything. But I guess not in this situation.

Ring shank nails are often used in the construction of wooden pallets----try pulling one sometime. Usually the wood breaks or the heads pull of or crack before the shanks let go.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

I’ll be priming everything off car once to allow me to get to all angles. After the lead soldering step. Which is coming up soon. The lead, and when I’d be applying it, meant I couldn’t try to prime stuff first.
Going to use por15 when the time comes, as on the main frame itself, then one coat of epoxy primer. Then nail everything onto the wood for the final build.
Use a few more coats of high build epoxy primer, sanding off most of it each time, then base, then clear.
If I detect any flaws after the second epoxy prime, I can always use a bit of filler,, although I hope not to..

No such thing as “High Build Epoxy Primer”. Epoxy primer does not sand well. After you apply 2 coats of epoxy...let it go 24 hours...them hit it with a maroon scuff pad...wash the panel...then apply some 2k high build primer surfacer. That stuff will block out nice. If you go through...re-coat bare metal areas with epoxy. I’ve been doing this every day of every year since 1976 ...and will be doing it tomorrow...lol

Also....SEM makes a product called “Rust Trap “ which blows POR 15 away. It’s more user friendly and it sticks to clean bare metal...where POR 15 has to be metal washed and then rinsed with water to stick on clean bare metal. And paint and body filler sticks to neither products...been there...done that.

Thanks. I’ll look for rust trap up here. Will spray through a 1.5 tip ok? My por 15 is getting old and I need to buy more anyway. Appreciate the tip.
Figure I go 2 coats epoxy off frame, then use the high build after I nail the panels on?
I was planning on doing the lead on frame, get everything as close and aligned as I can, then take everything off for the prime.. presuming lead bends a bit it should handle going off and on once? Can’t get Eastwood stuff up here so was going to try rosin core solder as my tinner.

I’ve never sprayed it before....I just use a brush for bad rusty areas. It flows out smooth and look good. Yup...mock up every panel and get it all fit...gaps and clearance ...so no panels are scraping when opening doors ...trunk lid ...hood.. Then remove for priming ,like you said. Different epoxies ...have different “Windows” . Some have a 3 day window...other have a 7 day window. So plan on getting your epoxy down...wait 24 hours..then top coat with 2k primer. If all hell breaks loose...and you miss that window....just scuff panels...and lay down 1 coat of epoxy ...wait 24 hours...then apply 2k primer surfacer.

Also some epoxy have an induction period ,after you mix it. So read the tech sheet on your choice of epoxy.